As an eventful year comes to an end, boxing delivered
big-time in 2023 with mega-fights, undisputed champions and dozens of great
matchups. To commemorate the year, it's time to honor those who helped make
2023 so special. Here are the 2023 Saturday Night Boxing Awards, with honors
bestowed for the Fighter, Fight, Knockout, Round, Upset, Trainer, Promoter,
Network and Referee of the Year.
Fighter of the Year: (tie) Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue
Crawford and Inoue, sublime talents who should be
considered the top-two fighters in the sport, both had tremendous years in
2023. Inoue started the year as lineal at bantamweight, moved up to 122,
stopped unified titlist Stephen Fulton and knocked out another unified titlist
in Marlon Tapales to become undisputed at a second weight class in a calendar
year. What an impressive achievement!
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| Inoue after defeating Fulton Photo courtesy Naoki Fukuda |
After years of waiting for the opportunity, Crawford destroyed Errol Spence, his prime rival at welterweight, in an era-defining fight. Spence entered the ring as one of the top handful of fighters in the sport, but Crawford demonstrated that he was on another level, knocking him down multiple times before the fight was stopped in the ninth. With the win, Crawford became an undisputed champion in a second division.
Crawford had the best singular win in 2023 while Inoue had
the best series of achievements. To me it's splitting hairs to choose one or
the other. They were the most impressive fighters to me and both are worthy
award winners.
Previous SNB Fighters of the Year:
2022: Dmitry Bivol
2021: Saul Alvarez
2020: Teofimo Lopez
2019: Saul Alvarez
2018: Oleksandr Usyk
2017: Srisaket Sor
Rungvisai
2016: Carl Frampton
2015: Floyd Mayweather
2014: Naoya Inoue
2013: Adonis Stevenson
2012: Nonito Donaire
2011: Andre Ward
Fight of the Year: Luis Nery-Azat Hovhannisyan
This fight reminded me of those classic HBO Boxing After
Dark fights, where two lower-weight boxers fought tooth-and-nail, putting
everything on the line for greater glory. This junior featherweight matchup
wasn't for a world title, but it featured a perfect matchup between a slugger
and a brawler.
Nery entered the ring with the greater pedigree, formerly a
world titlist at 118 and 122 lbs. But he had also been a mercurial and highly
controversial fighter, failing drug tests, blowing weight and rummaging through
trainers like they were pieces of loose candy. Hovhannisyan (who goes by the nickname
"Crazy A") was well known in boxing circles as a rugged club fighter
in Southern California.
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| Nery and Crazy A waging an unforgettable war Photo courtesy of Cris Esqueda |
Nery's straight punching got the best of the action in the early rounds. He scored a knockdown in the third and his straight left out of the southpaw stance gave Crazy A a lot of problems. But Hovhannisyan was prepared to take a lot of shots to land his. As the fight continued Crazy A's relentless pressure, body punching and grappling in close quarters was starting to have its effect. Nery, who had moved a lot earlier in the fight, was now right where Crazy A wanted him. The fight transformed into an all-out war with Crazy A unloading on Nery against the ropes while Nery would pick out a handful of striking power punches to stem the tide.
By the tenth, Nery was in bad shape. He was getting beaten
up and looked exhausted. It seemed as if Crazy A's plan had worked to
perfection: weather the early storm, apply constant pressure and break Nery
down late. But somehow, Nery regathered himself in the corner after the 10th.
At the beginning of the 11th round, he uncorked a violent left hand that dropped
Crazy A for the second time in the fight. The shot damaged Crazy A. He beat the
count but wasn't fully there. Nery jumped on him and forced the ref to stop the
fight.
Nery-Hovhannisyan was boxing at its best: warriors summoning all their inner reserves to defeat a determined opponent.
Nery looked like a world-class boxer-puncher in the early rounds, but Crazy A
kept coming. And Crazy A fought like he wouldn't be denied; this was his chance
for the breakthrough win of his career, but Nery found one last gear to get the victory.
What a thrilling fight and what a performance from both fighters!
Previous SNB Fights of the Year:
2022: Wood-Conlan
2021: Fury-Wilder III
2020: Zepeda-Baranchyk
2019: Inoue-Donaire
2018: Chisora-Takam
2017: Joshua-Klitschko
2016: Vargas-Salido
2015: Miura-Vargas
2014: Coyle-Brizuela
2013: Bradley-Provodnikov
2012: Pacquiao-Marquez IV
2011: Rios-Acosta
Knockout of the Year: Junto Nakatani KO 12 Andrew Moloney
Junto Nakatani was on his way to winning his second
world title as he entered the 12th round against Andrew Moloney. In a complete
performance, Nakatani dropped Moloney in the 2nd and 11th rounds and dazzled
with his combinations, punch variety and sharp counters. Moloney had put forth
a spirited effort, but was comprehensively outclassed. However, that was just a prelude to what happened in the 12th round.
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| Nakatani (right) after landing the KO punch Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams/Top Rank |
As the fight got closer to the final bell, Moloney still marched forward. Moving toward Nakatani he momentarily paused before throwing a jab. At that moment, Nakatani crouched to his left side, took his head off the line and unfurled a pulverizing overhead left that detonated on Moloney's face. Moloney, immediately dropped to the canvas, supine, blood flowing from his right eye; he could barely move. Nakatani's punch was a perfect one-shot knockout executed with expert precision. In year full of memorable knockouts, this was the one that stuck with me throughout 2023.
Previous SNB Knockouts of the Year:
2022: Leigh Wood TKO 12
Michael Conlan
2021: Gabe Rosado KO 3
Bektemir Melikuziev
2020: (tie) Alexander
Povetkin KO 5 Dillian Whyte and Gervonta Davis KO 6 Leo Santa Cruz
2019: Nonito Donaire KO 6
Stephon Young
2018: Naoya Inoue KO 1
Juan Carlos Payano
2017: Zolani Tete KO 1
Siboniso Gonya
2016: Hassan N'Dam KO 1
Alfonso Blanco
2015: Yenifel Vincente KO
3 Juan Dominguez
2014: Andy Lee KO 5 John
Jackson
2013: Stephen Smith KO 5
Gary Buckland
2012: Juan Manuel Marquez
KO 6 Manny Pacquiao
2011: Takashi Uchiyama TKO
11 Jorge Solis
Round of the Year: O'Shaquie Foster-Eduardo Hernandez Round
11
With open scoring in effect, O'Shaquie Foster, the
titleholder at 130 lbs., knew that he was down on the cards against Eduardo
"Rocky" Hernandez after eight rounds. However, this was just another one in a series of challenges he had to overcome in the match. He was the away fighter in
a small ring that favored Hernandez, who was supposed to be the puncher in the matchup. But Foster was determined to
defend his title.
Foster started the 11th round firing power shots and landed
a short right hook with 2:15 left in the round that buckled Hernandez's legs,
almost sending him to the canvas. Hernandez was badly hurt. Foster seized the
moment and drove Hernandez back to the ropes with power shots. Hernandez was buzzed, didn't have his full faculties and looked over to his corner. Foster wailed away with the left
hooks to the body and straight lefts with Hernandez not throwing back.
Hernandez went to full retreat mode, moving directly to the other side of the
ring as Foster continued to meet him with power shots. Hernandez was so
stunned that he momentarily turned his back to Foster.
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| Foster (left) and Hernandez before the fight Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland |
At 1:30 left in the round, Hernandez regained some of his bearing and started to trade and counter off the ropes. Getting through with straight rights and left hooks, he stung Foster. And now Foster was the one on retreat. Hernandez, with the roar of the crowd behind him, unloaded furious power shots, with Foster trying to block and place counters between them. Foster snapped Hernandez's head back with a beautiful right uppercut while against the ropes, but Hernandez kept coming.
Hernandez landed two huge right hooks to the head and body and Foster was badly hurt. Both finished the round throwing
nasty power punches, hoping to survive, recover and somehow end the fight.
Foster would be the fresher fighter in the final round and ultimately dropped Hernandez twice to win by stoppage and retain
his title. Foster came from way behind for victory. It was a
tremendous fight and the 11th was the best round that I saw all year.
Previous SNB Rounds of the Year:
2022: Mauricio Lara-Emilio
Sanchez Round 3
2021: Kenshiro
Teraji-Masamichi Yabuki Round 9
2020: Jose Zepeda-Ivan
Baranchyk Round 5
2019: Anthony Joshua-Andy
Ruiz Round 3
2018: Deontay Wilder-Tyson
Fury Round 12
2017: Anthony
Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko Round 5
2016: Edwin
Rodriguez-Thomas Williams Jr. Round 2
2015: Edwin
Rodriguez-Michael Seals Round 1
2014: Thomas Williams
Jr.-Cornelius White Round 1
2013: Tim Bradley-Ruslan
Provodnikov Round 12
2012: Sergio
Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Round 12
2011: Hernan Marquez-Luis
Concepcion I Round 1
Upset of the Year: Brian Mendoza KO 7
Sebastian Fundora
Sebastian Fundora entered 2023 as one of the ascendent
young stars in boxing. Having defeated contenders Sergio Garcia, Erickson Lubin,
and Carlos Ocampo, Fundora earned an interim title at 154 lbs., but more
importantly, he had established himself as one of the nightmare matchups for
anyone in the junior middleweight division, a 6'7" southpaw who had power
and could beat opponents at any range.
Brian Mendoza was supposed to be a marking-time opponent, a
fighter who had gone rounds with top prospect Jesus Ramos, but never
threatened to win. Mendoza did enter the Fundora fight with an impressive upset
win over former champion Jeison Rosario, but that result could in part be
explained by the damage that Rosario had taken in previous fights with Lubin and
Jermell Charlo.
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| Mendoza (right) celebrates after stopping Fundora Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime |
Through the first six rounds of Fundora-Mendoza, Fundora dominated the action, pasting Mendoza with straight lefts and left uppercuts. Mendoza had taken several big shots and had failed to impose himself on the action. It was one-way traffic.
But in the seventh, Mendoza seized an opportunity. Fundora
tried to throw an uppercut from too far away and Mendoza cracked Fundora with
a counter left hook. Fundora froze. Mendoza than followed up with one of the
biggest right hands of his career and capped it off with a picture-perfect left
hook. Fundora hit the deck. He sat up as the ref counted, but had none of his
faculties. He would be counted out without making a concentrated effort to
continue. In an instant, the Big Bad Wolf would be defanged. Mendoza had shocked
the boxing world. From six rounds of accomplishing very little to destroying
one of the most intimidating young fighters in the sport, Mendoza authored one
of the most shocking results of the year.
Previous SNB Upsets of the Year:
2022: Hector Luis Garcia
UD Chris Colbert
2021: George Kambosos SD
Teofimo Lopez
2020: Robert Helenius TKO
4 Adam Kownacki
2019: Andy Ruiz TKO 7
Anthony Joshua
2018: Rob Brant UD Ryota
Murata
2017: Caleb Truax MD James
DeGale
2016: Joe Smith Jr. KO 1
Andrzej Fonfara
2015: Tyson Fury UD
Wladimir Klitschko
2014: (tie) James de la
Rosa UD Alfredo Angulo and Tommy Karpency SD Chad Dawson
2013: Jhonny Gonzalez KO 1
Abner Mares
2012: Sonny Boy Jaro TKO 6
Pongsaklek Wongjongkam
Trainer of the Year: Brian McIntyre et al.
Brian McIntyre's work as Terence
Crawford's lead trainer has been exemplary. McIntyre has helped shape Crawford
into one of the truly best fighters in the sport. But the "et al."
above acknowledges that McIntyre has worked with a team to get Crawford to this
level, specifically Esau Dieguez and Red Spikes. Together, the three of them
have been instrumental in refining the abilities of Crawford (and their other
major fighters) in the ring.
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| Crawford, McIntyre's elite pupil, after stopping Spence Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime |
Immediately after Crawford's knockout victory over Errol Spence, Crawford was asked about the preparation for the fight. Crawford specifically noted that his counter right jab in the southpaw stance was paramount to beating Spence. He explained that McIntyre had worked with him to make the shot more of a power punch against Spence. It wasn't intended just to score; the point was to pulverize with the punch.
McIntyre and the team had done their homework. They noticed
that Spence would often lunge with shots and that for a brief instant he wasn't
in a defensively responsible position. And it would be the counter jab, perhaps
the shortest and quickest shot in Crawford's arsenal, that would be the punch
to punish Spence. It was game planning at its finest. Although Crawford
would go on to score additional knockdowns with his right hook and right
uppercut, it was the counter jab that continually hurt Spence and made him pay
for his mistakes.
On another note, McIntyre helped Chris Eubank win his rematch against Liam Smith. Taking over for Roy Jones, McIntyre got rid of Eubank's desire to be a cute counterpuncher. Instead, he had Eubank working as the aggressor, to stay away from the ropes, and to be first in exchanges. He imparted belief in Eubank that he was the puncher and that Smith couldn't withstand the onslaught if Eubank was consistent with his offense. Eubank would stop Smith in the 10th round.
It was a tremendous year for Team McIntyre
and they showed a sublime ability to prepare their fighters for the task at hand
and to focus on specific weapons and strategies to get the job done. They have now established themselves as one of the elite training teams in the sport.
Previous SNB Trainers of the Year:
2022: Derrick James
2021: Eddy Reynoso
2020: Teofimo Lopez Sr.
2019: Eddy Reynoso
2018: Anatoly Lomachenko
2017: Derrick James
2016: Shane McGuigan
2015: Peter Fury
2014: Freddie Roach
2013: Kenny Porter
2012: Robert McCracken
2011: Robert Garcia
Promoter of the Year: TGB Promotions in conjunction with
PBC
Tom Brown has been the lead promoter for most of the big
PBC fights in 2023. Working together, they had a tremendous year in
delivering big and meaningful bouts. With Gervonta
Davis-Ryan Garcia, they broke 1 million pay per view buys in the United States.
In putting together Spence-Crawford, they finally were able to give boxing
fans the era-defining welterweight fight that they had been clamoring for. And there was a lot more great stuff in addition to those two mega-fights: Benavidez-Plant, Matias-Ponce, Sims-Akhmedov, Canelo-Charlo
and Benavidez-Andrade.
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| Gervonta Davis knocking down Ryan Garcia Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey |
Brown has been one of the lead matchmakers for PBC and his role in helping to present their events is far more than ceremonial. He's had a hand in developing and matching many of the key PBC talents. In 2023, Brown and PBC provided boxing fans with big events and memorable outcomes. It was a job well done.
Previous SNB Promoters of the Year:
2022: No Award Given
2021: Premier Boxing
Champions
2020: Top Rank
2019: Matchroom Boxing
2018: Premier Boxing
Champions
2017: K2 Promotions
2016: Matchroom Boxing
2015: Golden Boy
Promotions
2014: Matchroom Boxing
2013: (tie) Golden Boy
Promotions and Top Rank
2012: Golden Boy
Promotions
2011: Top Rank
Network of the Year: Showtime
In one of the grand ironies of recent boxing history, Showtime
delivered one of the best slate of fights in memory and yet the network decided to discontinue its boxing program at the end of the year. Well, it was quite the swan song! With Davis-Garcia, Spence-Crawford
and Canelo-Charlo, Showtime was the place to be for big fights in 2023. But the
network also had several fantastic fights on their regular Showtime
Championship Boxing cards, such as Matias-Ponce, Sims-Akhmedov and
Fundora-Mendoza.
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| Matias-Ponce, one of the best fights of 2023 Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime |
Showtime had a 37-year run in broadcasting boxing to its American subscribers. Over time they had evolved from the scrappy little brother in HBO's shadow to one of the leaders in the sport before disbanding their boxing program. It was an odd way for them to go out. They didn't limp along like HBO did at the end. They finished with a bang and I would expect that many of Showtime Boxing's key players will resurface with other broadcasters in 2024. Showtime left the sport on a high note.
Previous SNB Networks of the Year:
2022: ESPN
2021: Showtime
2020: ESPN
2019: DAZN
2018: Showtime
2017: Showtime
2016: Sky Sports
2015: No award given
2014: ESPN
2013: Showtime
2012: BoxNation
Referee of the Year: No Award Given
Previous SNB Referees of the Year:
2022: David Fields
2021: Mark Lyson
2020: Michiaki Someya
2019: No award given
2018: Jack Reiss
2017: David Fields
2016: Raul Caiz Sr.
2015: David Fields
2014: Steve Smoger
2013: Tony Weeks
2012: Eddie Claudio
